Royal Court of Justice.
Reversing neglect: A statement from Quakers in Criminal Justice
‘How can this state of affairs embody the core requirements of the prison service?’
We welcome the prime minister’s early recognition that the prisons crisis requires urgent attention, and his appointment of James Timpson as minister for Prisons and Probation – a man who understands the rehabilitative value of prisoner employment. Reversing decades of neglect will not be easy; we therefore call upon Shabana Mahmood, the new secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), to consult with experts from prison charities and elsewhere to help clarify the way ahead. The Prison Governors’ Association has warned that ‘the entire criminal justice system stands on the precipice of failure’. There must be a change of direction from ever-more offences and ever-lengthening sentences, which have become a shorthand for demonstrating that a political party is ‘tough on crime’.
Quakers in Criminal Justice (QICJ) urges a reconsideration of Sentencing Council guidelines on what constitutes a ‘just and proportionate’ sentence, as part of a Royal Commission on Criminal Justice. This was a manifesto pledge in 2019, but was never realised. Nor was the commitment to deal with court backlogs, now at an all-time high of 67,573 cases, with over 16,000 prisoners on remand. Recalled prisoners add to the overcrowding.
Understaffing, due to systemic recruitment and retention problems, leads to long periods of lock-up. The chief inspector of prisons recently stated that forty-two per cent of people are locked in their cells for at least twenty-two hours a day, rising to sixty per cent at weekends – so even ‘purposeful activity’ has been abandoned, let alone resettlement or rehabilitation work. Moreover, the service is continually having to bring in staff from elsewhere to plug the gaps. This has the twin disadvantages of being costly and transitory so that positive staff-prisoner relationships cannot develop. Insufficient training of officers is yet another issue.
QICJ continues to be very concerned about prisoners with discredited Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences. Whereas there is now a way forward for this sentence to be terminated for people released into the community, those still in prison have little hope. Many struggle to satisfy the Parole Board, because the damage directly caused by this never-ending nightmare has reduced these already-vulnerable people to a state of acute mental distress. How will their dilemma be resolved?
Our prisons range from the dismal to the dilapidated. Instead of funding essential maintenance work and replacing outdated buildings, the budget is continually diverted to cope with operational emergencies. Unrest and violence is countered by the training of more ‘Tornado’ riot prison officers to deal with the disturbances.
How can this state of affairs embody the core requirements of the prison service, which include standards on ensuring personal safety, treating people with decency, providing purposeful activity and managing transitions from custody to the community?
Comments
I continue to despair - the new Prison and Probation Governement Minister has been reported as saying he will not consider release of IPP sentenced convicts as part of his emergency release scheme. I think that signifies that QICJ aspirations will be ignored by Government and Parliament.
By Tolkny on 26th July 2024 - 9:54
Thank you for these important contributions.
When considering the purpose and general condition of custody, it is important to always remember that the ‘prison crisis’ is also a crisis for the probation service and those other services in the community working with people who have broken the law. These essential services should never be forgotten in debates on criminal justice. Community-based alternatives to custody and post-custodial after-care need to have the same status as the humane containment, education and therapeutic intervention that should characterise those cases where the deprivation of liberty is deemed appropriate.
Given that most people have broken the law but few are apprehended and criminalised, we should reflect on the profile of those who are most likely to become clients of the criminal justice system as perpetrators and victims: the economically and socially marginalised; the abused and victimised; the care experienced; the educationally disadvantaged; and the stigmatised. We must beware that we are not simply punishing the powerless and disadvantaged. There can be no fair or meaningful criminal justice without social justice. As active peacemakers, we must always ask ourselves what we can do to prevent harm, reduce conflict and - as best we can - support and help the healing process for those who have been hurt.
Jonathan Evans
By wynneevans on 28th July 2024 - 10:24
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